WhatsApp is one of the applications that is not usually missing today in any smartphone. And it has become the most used app to communicate with family, friends or colleagues. Therefore, who else and who least has certain chats in which he has had a private conversation that he does not want anyone to have access to or in which we have shared some confidential information. Therefore, it is important to take measures as soon as possible to protect these chats. This is all we can do to prevent our WhatsApp account from being stolen.
The truth is that in most cases we tend to be quite confident and we do not mind putting the password, PIN or unlock pattern of the mobile in front of anyone, but without a doubt, this is a great risk, since our mobile can fall into any time in the hands of someone and can access all the information stored in it. Therefore, it is advisable to take appropriate measures as soon as possible and thus prevent anyone from having access to our WhatsApp or even getting the account stolen.
Important to avoid having your WhatsApp account stolen
Do not share the verification code with anyone
At the moment we install WhatsApp on a smartphone, after indicating our phone number, the messaging app itself will send us an SMS with the verification code . A 6-digit code that we must enter in the verification screen of the app and that is unique. That is, if at any time we want to install WhatsApp on another phone or we want to change the number, we will have to activate the application again through another verification code that will send us again via SMS.
Therefore, we must prevent anyone from having access to that code. Once we have installed the messaging app and verify that everything has been installed and activated correctly, perhaps it is best that we delete the SMS that contains that code so that no one can access it even if our phone falls into their hands.
Add two-step verification
One function that the messaging service itself has added with the purpose of increasing security and privacy is two-step verification . In this way, it will be necessary to enter a PIN when we re-register our phone number in WhatsApp. That is, if someone with our verification code tries to install and verify the application without us noticing, the tool will request this PIN to continue with the process. Otherwise, they will not be able to access our account in any way.
To add verification in two steps:
- We open the app on our mobile.
- We touch on the menu button.
- We access Settings> Account> Verification in two steps.
- We touch on the Activate option.
- We enter a 6-digit PIN that will ask us when we register our number in WhatsApp.
- We confirm the PIN again.
- We add our email address . It will be with which we can retrieve the PIN in case we forget it.
- We confirm the email address.
- Two-step verification will be activated .
Shield mobile access
The first barrier we can put in place to protect access to the information stored on our mobile phone is to protect access to it. Therefore, it is advisable to establish a PIN, lock pattern or use a biometric system such as fingerprint, facial recognition or iris recognition to unlock our smartphone.
Of course, the method to choose will depend on the capabilities of our mobile phone, but the truth is that today, on all phones we can put a PIN, pattern and even fingerprint to unlock our mobile.
Make sure you don’t have other sessions open
If we use WhatsApp Web, we must ensure that we do not leave any sessions open, especially if other people have access to that computer. Therefore, if we are going to stop using the web version of the messaging app, it is best that we close the session before anything else. For it:
- Click on the menu button in WhatsApp Web and choose the Close Session option .
- From our mobile, we touch on the notification that shows that WhatsApp Web is active and click on the option Close all sessions.
Protect access to WhatsApp with your fingerprint
Another of the functions that Facebook incorporated in its instant messaging app thinking of offering users greater security and protection of their accounts is the fingerprint lock. In this way, we will have to put our finger on the fingerprint reader of our phone to access the messaging app. To activate this option:
- We open the messaging app.
- We touch on the menu button.
- We access Settings> Account> Privacy> Fingerprint lock.
- On the next screen we slide the Unlock fingerprint switch to the ON position.
- We put our finger on the fingerprint reader and follow the instructions.
